Protestant Council, Catholics Oppose Reagan Bitburg Visit

April 24, 1985|United Press International

WASHINGTON — Protestant and Roman Catholic officials Tuesday joined the chorus of Jewish critics dismayed by President Reagan`s decision to visit a German cemetery holding the graves of elite Nazi SS troops.

In a telegram to Reagan, the Rev. Arie Brouwer, general secretary of the National Council of Churches, said the 31-member ecumenical agency views with ``dismay your decision to make an official visit to Bitburg cemetery.``

Brouwer said the cemetery visit, where dozens of members of Hitler`s dreaded ``Schutzstaffel`` are buried, ``exacerbates wounds rather than heals them.``

Reagan, in announcing that he would participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the cemetery, said one aim was to heal the wounds left by World War II and aid the reconciliation of the German and American people.

``We ask you to reconsider this unfortunate decision so that the world may know this nation`s total disdain for the policies that produced the Nazi Holocaust,`` Brouwer`s telegram said.

Dr. Eugene Fisher, head of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops` Secretariat for Catholic-Jewish Relations, praised Reagan for adding a visit to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp to his itinerary.